White Cliffs of Dover

These towering escarpments, stretching 10 miles (16 km) along the coast, not only guard England from its enemies but, more importantly, give tribute to the global Flood.

Impressive and dramatic, the
White Cliffs of Dover keep watch
as a citadel over the southern
entrance into the Strait of Dover,
which separates England from
France. These towering escarpments,
stretching 10 miles (16 km) along the
coast, not only guard England from
its enemies but, more importantly,
give tribute to the global Flood as
described in Genesis 6–9.

The Chalk Beds

Chalk formations are found in many places in Europe,
including England, France and Northern Ireland, and even
extend into the Middle East as far as Kazakhstan. Extensive
chalk beds are also found throughout North America,
including the states of Tennessee, Nebraska, Mississippi,
and Kansas.

Many secular geologists claim that these chalk beds speak
of an old earth since they believe chalk formed slowly and
progressively over millions of years. However, when we
interpret the evidence from a biblical perspective, we see
that there is an explanation for the formation of these chalk
beds that aligns with the biblical timescale of thousands
of years. The main cause of these beds is the catastrophic,
worldwide Flood.

Formation

White chalk is composed almost entirely of calcium
carbonate. This calcium carbonate, a very pure type
of limestone, consists of billions of microorganisms
including foraminifera and calcareous algae, coccoliths and
rhabdoliths. Today, these microorganisms live in the upper
300–600 feet (91–183 m) of the open seas. When these
microorganisms die, their calcium-rich shells accumulate
on the bottom of the ocean floor, often almost 15,000–16,000 feet (4.6–4.9 km) below the surface. These shells cover about one-quarter of the surface of the earth today. It
is estimated that these remains take up to 10 days or longer
to reach the ocean floor and reportedly accumulate at a rate
of .5–3 inches (1.25–7.5 cm) per thousand years.

Interpretation

Evolutionary View

The measured rate of chalk accumulation seems to
demonstrate that these chalk beds could not have formed
quickly. Evolutionists claim that these chalk beds were
formed around 70 to 100 million years ago, during
the “Cretaceous period,” when the southern portion of
England was submerged by a shallow tropical sea. Chalk
slowly accumulated and the land was eventually uplifted by movements of the earth’s crust to where the cliffs tower
over the Strait of Dover up to 350 feet (105 m) high.

The Biblical View

With such a slow rate of accumulation, how did such
monumental chalk beds form on an earth, which is, according
to the Bible, a little over 6000 years old? For the chalk
formations to have reached the thickness they are today in
a few thousand years, the production of microorganisms
would have had to greatly increase sometime in the past.
In fact, under the right conditions, rapid production and
accumulation of these microorganisms on the ocean floor
is possible. These conditions include turbulent waters, high
winds, decaying fish, and increased temperature and
nutrients from volcanic waters and other
sources.

With catastrophic volcanic activity
warming the oceans and releasing
large amounts of CO2, and with the
torrential rains and the churning
and mixing of fresh and salt
waters, the Flood of Noah’s day
produced the right conditions for a “blooming”
production of microorganisms and the chalk’s rapid
accumulation. The three major sections of the White Cliffs
of Dover give evidence of three major “blooms” in chalk
formation, which would have taken place during the year-long
Flood.

The purity of the chalk itself also points to rapid
accumulation. One cannot imagine a scenario where
deposits over millions of years could maintain such purity without accumulating some contaminating sediments from
other events.

Additional evidence for a global Flood in the White Cliffs
of Dover includes the layering of the chalk in alternating
thin, hard layers and thick, soft layers. In these hard layers,
called hardgrounds, we find fossils of mollusk shells and
other sea creatures, some as large as 3 feet (1 m) across
(ammonites), which could not have been buried alive
slowly! The same chalk formation in the Netherlands has
yielded a very large Mosasaurus skull. Since sea life was
not part of Noah’s cargo on the Ark, they had to endure
the ravages of the Flood. Marine life would have been
swept into the rapidly forming chalk and other sedimentary
layers and quickly buried by successive deposits. That is
why we find fossils of sea creatures in even the highest
chalk layers, now far above the ocean.

Consider It

The White Cliffs of Dover confirm the biblical account of
a global Flood just about 4,000 years ago. The evidence is
apparent when viewed through a biblical perspective.

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Answers in Genesis is an apologetics ministry, dedicated to helping Christians defend their faith and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ effectively. We focus on providing answers to questions about the Bible—particularly the book of Genesis—regarding key issues such as creation, evolution, science, and the age of the earth.